Iván Zdhánov (Moscow, 1998) is a great lover of swimming, but since the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) of Russia, of which he is director, was outlawed, and since his superior and friend Alexei Navalny was poisoned and subsequently imprisoned , the pool has become a reminder of his former life.
Zdhánov’s calm voice does not waver on the other side of the screen, which portrays him in his office in Lithuania. Accused of three criminal offenses and with an international search and arrest warrant, he has been forced to go into exile to Vilnius, along with his wife and his five-year-old daughter. A journey that he defines as “overwhelming, but nothing new.” The main charge against Navalni’s comrade is having disobeyed a court order to delete sequences of a video in which he denounced corruption in the highest echelons of the Kremlin.
Putin has imposed the stigma of a “foreign agent” on him.
Now that the FBK operates from Lithuania, it is no longer a problem, but in Moscow this signage greatly limited our contact with the outside world, not to mention the bureaucracy. From here we can act relatively normally, with the same directive and structure, without restrictions.
But without its leader. How is Navalny?
Frustrated. I last spoke to him last week. We can only talk about legal issues and through small messages via his lawyers. We try to formulate our questions, say, in judicial language, but it is complicated.
After a few days with an unknown whereabouts, Navalny was transferred to Melekhovo, the high-security penal colony IK-6.
He did not know that they were going to transfer him from prison and it took us a while to confirm it. Disappearances and other mysteries are common in the Russian prison system.
Navalni has been accused of large-scale fraud for enriching himself with donations to his anti-corruption platform.
Alexei Navalny never stole money from the foundation. It is absurd, and this has been confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights. What the entire process has shown is that the Russian judicial system is also under Putin’s yoke. We fight against a great repressive machine.
With him in prison, does the project have a future?
Navalny has not disappeared. He can still appeal to society. Of course it is a challenge, but we want a democratic society that condemns war. I don’t know if in a year or ten, but we will return to Russia and the country will change direction.
You know Putin. Is he the only one standing in the way?
Him and his circle of influence, his officers and his close friends. Putin does not live for power, nor for money. He lives only to go down in history. He believes that he is creating an empire like the Soviet Union was, returning Russia to its former glory. That’s why this war started. It is important for him to appear in the books as a hero and he draws on the experiences of past generals. He is really crazy.
What has Russian society failed to do to bring Putin to power?
It is not that Russian society supports Putin. He began some time ago to plan his movements, and step by step, little by little, he gained ground. He started with a crusade against the independent media, he defined the target of his enemies… Russian citizens, at first, did not see a big problem, until we realized that peaceful protests were a nuisance for him. He has now gotten rid of all political and citizen opposition.
Should we fear that Putin will use nuclear weapons?
Depending on what happens on the battlefield, that possibility is possible. However, we should not fear Putin, because he uses that fear. He is not as in control as he tries to make you believe, although yes, he is a danger to everyone, not just Russia and Ukraine. Every day that Putin is in power is another day of deaths, persecutions and injustices.
Are you in contact with Zelensky?
No. It’s a tense moment. With the war, the Ukrainian perception of the Russians is not the best…
Support is growing for a peace in Ukraine that does not involve a Russian defeat. Would Navalny consider an alliance with Kyiv?
It totally depends on Ukraine. Navalny is a great politician and Ukrainians and Russians have a bond beyond the border union. Problems will come and will have to be solved. I hope that when the time comes, Ukrainian society will be willing to dialogue.
Could there be a civil war in Russia?
A hundred years ago, I would have been sure it was. Now, in modern society, I don’t think so. We run a peaceful organization, no matter how much Putin calls us extremists. We’re sure he would have loved for us to use force.
